All She Has Left
by D.K.N
Summary: Tired of her crappy life, Helga finally snaps and runs away, preparing to to the unthinkable! Can Arnold talk some sense into her? Takes place 1 week after the movie.
1. Chapter 1

Hi, folks! I know most of my fics usually involve animés, but this time I thought I'd start on a fic based on one of my old favorite cartoons. This takes place about a week or so after Arnold saved the neighborhood. It is loosely based on a scene from another author's fic, so I really hope I won't get sued or kicked off the site for this. It is rated M because of scenes of harsh language.

**Chapter 1:**

Another day of hell. For years now, Helga had tried to get used to her daily so-called life, but she never really did. Arnold was her only escape from her almost-nonexistent social life and truly horrid family life. And now she was thinking that she had most likely lost him, too.

After that fateful bus ride, they had agreed to deny the whole thing. Although Arnold had refused to do so and was almost constantly going over his own memories and thoughts, Helga didn't realize this and had taken his reaction as one of rejection. She had spiraled into a depression, although she still kept her books of Arnold-themed poetry to remind her of what a fool she had been. And as if life couldn't get any worse…

"OLGA! Get your butt down here for dinner, NOW!" Her heartless (and clueless) father bellowed. His yell was partially canceled out by a thunderclap, and she looked at the nearby clock. 'Eight-thirty' she though to herself. She reluctantly went down, makine sure that the two wide wristbands covered up her wrists completely, and then sitting down with the rest of her family. Yes, her shining-star older sibling, Olga, had come home to spend the last 2 weeks of summer holiday with her family. Her mother was sitting half-awake, occasionally missing when she tried to insert food into her mouth.

They ate in silence. After everything was done, Big Brainless Bob (as Helga had come to refer to him in her diaries) started up a conversation. But this time it wasn't about beepers, beeper sales, or anything beeper-related…

"Okay, missy," he said, looking square at Helga, "We need to talk." I can't think of what to say what went on, but let me just say that it mostly consisted of Bob talking to Helga about how she had helped "Orphan Boy" foil Scheck's plans and, despite the fate that Bob would've only gotten 10 of the profits, was still quite angry.

He continued bellowing, "I still can't believe you would do such a thing! How could you choose friendship over business! If Olga would've been in your position, she wouldn't have done that, because Olga is smart, smart enough to know-"

This is when Helga exploded. "SHUT THE HELL UP! All you ever talk about is 'Olga this' and Olga that' and 'Olga would always do what I think is right'! You never even stopped to think who you were hurting, even me! Hell, you don't even know my name!"

"Now, listen here, Olga-!" "There! See? You just called me 'Olga'! No one ever stops to consider how I think or feel!" Her tears were starting to flow freely now as she backed away from the kitchen and out into the hallway. "You are a heartless bastard!" "Helga!' her mom gasped. She turned to her "And you! You have got to be the most inattentive, irresponsible, pathetic excuse for a mother I have ever heard of! Of course, why should you pay any attention to me? I'm just a worthless sack of crap anyways"! The anger in her voice had been completely replaced by sorrow. "Baby sister, I-" "SHUT UP! Like you ever cared about me either! No one cares! Even my true love, the only one I ever loved, can't stand me! This world would be 1,000 times better off without me! Consider this the last time you'll ever see me alive!" With that, she exited the Pataki house and ran off into the raging storm, pouring rain, and pitch-darkness, and started off running like she never had before to the one place she considered best to end it all.

10 minutes later, she arrived at Arnold's house, and quickly climbed up the fire escape to the roof of the boarding house. Before she died, she wanted to take one last look at her love. She looked down through his glass roof, seeing him sitting in his PJs and reading one of his mystery books. 'Good bye, Arnold' she thought, pulling her locket out of her dress and clutching it tightly to her broken heart. She turned away and started toward the edge of the roof, unaware that Arnold had chosen that moment to look up in thought and catch a glimpse of pink.

Helga walked toward the edge of the roof, climbing up on the edge of the cement ledge, looking down at the concrete below and preparing to jump. Amidst the rain, she did not hear the window behind her open up, or the startled and horrified gasp that followed. 'Good bye, world' she thought what she thought would be her final thought, and had just started to push forward with her legs when a pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her back.

"Helga! What the heck do you think you're doing!" Arnold half-screamed, his voice tinted with panic. "Let go of me, Arnold!" she screamed, going hysterical. "There's nothing left for me! Everyone hates me, my family doesn't even know I exist, and to top it all off, you, the only one who ever brought life unto my bleak and hopeless life, can't stand me! You'd all be better off without the worthless piece of shit I am! Now LET ME GO!"

"Helga, snap out of it!" he replied, concern and worry evident in his voice and expression. "That's not true!" "You know it is, Arnold! Please, let me jump!" "Helga, please stop! That's not true! You're wrong! People do care about you! I… I care about you…" he murmured the last part, starting to choke up.

Helga stopped struggling and looked into the boy's eyes. They were full of concern and even had a slight bit of tears starting to form in the corners. With this, Helga simply broke down, falling into his arms and sobbing her heart out. He picked her up and carried her inside.

**Chapter 2:**

Arnold gently sat Helga down with him on his bed, as she continued to cling to him, although her cries were softening now. When she finally, yet reluctantly, let go of him, he reached under his bed and pulled out two towels. He got of and turned around as she stripped out of her soaked clothes and wrapped the towel around herself. He handed her the other towel to dry her hair off, and when she signaled all clear with a solemn "okay", he turned back around and sat down next to her.

Now that they were in the light, he could see everything more clearly. Her eyes were still red from crying, and a small sob or whimper occasionally came from her as she curled up into a ball. He could also see that she appeared to have hardly eaten in the past week. Her hair was tangled and neglected, and Arnold could also tell that she looked somewhat dehydrated, which meant that her depression had almost completely stopped her from eating or drinking.

"Helga?" he questioned softly, and she brought her head up in response, looking at him with those forlorn eyes. "Are you all right?" After a second or so, she slowly shook her head. "Tell me what happened. Please?" he used his calmest, most reassuring tone he could muster, and after a few seconds, Helga sighed and began to speak.

She explained what had happened, how she had finally gone over the top with her family. Her topic quickly changed, though, as she suddenly began telling him exactly why she loved him. She told him of that fateful first day of preschool, how she had helped him twice, and she had gotten teased for it, and she became the pink terror everyone knew her as. All the while, Arnold listened in quiet curiosity and mild shock. He had never known she had felt so strongly for him.

But now," she said sadly, "I know that you could never feel the same way about me. I've known ever since after the bus crashed. I know rejection when I see it". She broke into another small sob. "Helga, that's not true." She looked up at him in curiosity. "W-what are you saying?" she asked shakily. "I'm saying," he stated, "that I didn't reject you. Over the past week or so, I've been going through my memories and feelings, and I think that somewhere, deep down, I knew how you felt all along. And…"

"And?" she asked. "And," he continued, "I think… I think that… that I've loved you all along, but just didn't realize it until now. I love you, Helga, and I hate to see you unhappy. Please, I just don't want to see you suffer like this anymore."

Now, Helga's brain was working in overdrive, and her heart was as well. Had it not been for her current state of mood, she would be dancing with joy right now. Instead, all she could manage was a look that… well, basically told Arnold that she was shocked, but VERY glad to hear it. She smiled what may have been the loveliest smile he had ever seen, and then collapsed into his arms, tears of joy starting to form as she returned his embrace.

Although Arnold was in a state of bliss, he couldn't help but notice something. "Helga?" he asked. "Yes?" she replied, her voice somewhat of a mix of joy and sadness. "Why are you wearing those wrist bands?" She stopped, pulling away from him slowly and holding her arms close to her.

"Do you promise not to freak out?" she asked worryingly. "Of course, Helga. Please, you don't have to hide anything from me". She just couldn't say no to him. With that, she slowly removed her wristbands, allowing Arnold to gasp when he saw the several blade marks on both her wrists. "Helga, have you been…" he asked with concern. She said nothing, only nodded, a look of shame on her face.

Now he was really worried. This was a major red flag. How could he have missed that she had been suffering this much? "Why?" he asked, his voice full of concern. "It was the only way for me to escape my pain, plus I was hoping I might 'accidentally' cut too deep and finish myself off". "Helga, please. I've already told you, you don't have to do those kinds of things. The world would not be a better place if you died. I probably wouldn't be able to go on without you".

"You really mean it?" she said, her sad eyes looking up into his concerned ones. "With all my heart" he replied. With that, he hugged her again, taking the fragile beauty before him into a caring embrace. When she let go of him, he went over and turned the light off, then climbed into bed next to her, allowing her to cling onto him again, as they both drifted off to sleep.

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Well, what do you think? Sorry if might have been a little too lovey-dovey, but I only have two styles of fan fiction: lovey-dovey stuff or hard-core sex. Anyhow, there will be another chapter as soon as I have time to update. Until then, please read & review. And please, don't make your reviews too harsh, okay?


	2. Chapter 2

Hi, everybody! Now you say "Hi, Dr. Nick!". I said I would update, and I'm keeping that promise. I just hope you can enjoy this chapter as much as the first one! 

Random Halo 2 Quote: Grunt1: Me have bad feeling about this… Grunt2: You have bad feeling about everything. You had bad feeling about Quar'an Food Nibble!

(P.S. I don't own Hey Arnold or Halo)

I chose this song to write down because it kind of reminds me of Helga… at least in this story.

LINKIN PARK – SOMEWHERE I BELONG:

I had nothing to say  
and I get lost in the nothingness inside of me  
(I was confused)  
and I live it all out to find, but I'm not the only person with these things in mind   
(inside of me)  
but all that they can see the words revealed   
is the only real thing that I got left to feel  
(nothing to lose)  
just stuck hollow and alone  
and the fault is my own and the fault is my own

I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real  
I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long.   
(erase all the pain til its gone)  
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real.  
I wanna find something I've wanted all along  
somewhere I belong

and I got nothing to say. I can't believe I didn't fall right down on my face  
(I was confused)  
look at everywhere only to find.  
it is not the way I had imagined it all in my mind.  
(so what am I)  
what do I have but negativity  
cuz I can't justify the way everyone is looking at me  
(nothing to lose)  
nothing to gain I'm hollow and alone  
and the fault is my own  
and the fault is my own

I wanna heal I wanna feel what I thought was never real  
I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long.  
(erase all the pain til its gone)  
I wanna heal I wanna feel like I'm close to something real.  
I wanna find something I've wanted all along  
somewhere I belong

I will never know myself until I do this on my own   
cuz I will never feel anything else until my wounds are healed  
I will never be anything til I break away from me  
I will break away. I'll find myself today

I wanna heal I wanna feel what I thought was never real  
I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long.   
(erase all the pain til its gone)  
I wanna heal I wanna feel like I'm close to something real.  
I wanna find something I've wanted all along  
somewhere I belong

Arnold awoke the next morning to a light weight on his chest. He opened his eyes to see Helga, his angel, sleeping peacefully, still wrapped in the towel from last night. Although he really didn't want to disturb her, he knew he had to wake her up. He shook her lightly until she finally opened her eyes.

"Good morning, dear" she said sleepily, than gasped and blushed when she realized what she had just said. Arnold just smiled and sat them both up. They the noticed Helga's clothes lying clean and neatly folded up by the door, along with a small note. Although Arnold couldn't really make out the words, he could tell it was his grandmother's "handwriting".

Arnold turned around so Helga could get dressed, then helped her brush her hair, but she decided to let her hair down for this day. He was soon glad of her decision, since, in his opinion, she looked lovely with her hair down. He took her by the hand and led her down to breakfast.

When they got to the table, everyone was already digging in, but they stopped when they saw the two. Arnold quickly said "Don't ask" to the other boarders, and they, surprisingly, didn't, and continued their meals, and then headed back to their rooms. "Grandpa," Arnold said, stopping the man in question, "Can I- I mean we – talk to you for a minute?" "Sure, short man" he replied, sitting down and listening to the two explain why Helga was here.

When they were finished, Phil was obviously in a mix of emotions. He decided to first vent about Big Bob, explaining how "he had never heard of such heartlessness or regret in his life", and then calmly and kindly told Helga that he would let her stay with them free of charge. She replied with a soft "Thank you", and she and Arnold were about to leave when…"

"Hey, Arnold, wait a minute". "What it is, grandpa?" "Well," he said, "There's one thing I never told you. Remember that girl Gertie who was always pickin' on me in 4th Grade?" "Yeah," said Arnold, curious about where this would lead. "Well, I never really told you what happened to her". Arnold thought for a second. Where exactly was he going with this. Grandpa Phil merely pointed at the kitchen door, just as Arnold's grandma walked in.

It took a few seconds for this to register with the two, but the look on their faces told Phil that they finally caught on. "Grandma is Gertie!" Arnold exclaimed. "Normally, yes," his grandma said, "But right now I'm Gwana hunting the vicious man-eater. Oh, there he goes!" she said, right as a fly flew past her, and she gave chase with her flyswatter. Phil chuckled, saying "I figured out that she had a huge crush on me the whole time! What a shock, eh?" "I guess this means history does repeat itself, doesn't it?" Helga said. All Arnold could do was nod.

The rest of the day was spent gathering rent, since it was that day of the month. Thankfully, Mr. Whynh didn't make them do chores, and Ernie didn't creep Helga out the way he did Gerald (although he did make her feel the slightest bit nervous with that sledgehammer in his hands). Mr. ----- (I forget his name) gave his rent, and his chicken could be heard clucking the whole time. "Don't ask" Arnold said to Helga right after the chicken clucked loudly. Mr. Smith had his money this time, as well as a paper that read 'Good luck with your relationship'.

At about 2:00 in the afternoon, Helga reluctantly agreed to go with Arnold and Phil to retrieve her belongings from her "home". Her father tried to stop them, but quickly shut up when Arnold karate-chopped a table in half and said that he could do the same thing to his spine. Before they could leave, Olga came running out to the car. Surprisingly, she was on Helga's side in the whole ordeal, and would be leaving the house soon to find a stay closer to Helga, "Just in case you need me" she said.

After taking their (separate) showers, Arnold and Helga went to his room for the night around 8:30. "Arnold," Helga said, "I-I want to thank you for all the things you've done for me". He smiled and said "You don't have to thank me, Helga. You're supposed to help the ones you love". This basically put her on Cloud Nine. She couldn't help letting out a swoon, but blushed when she realized it. He just smiled again.

"Arnold," she asked somewhat hesitantly, "C-could I – and if not, it's okay – but could I… kiss you?" He looked a bit surprised. "I mean," she continued, "Since I didn't exactly ask you last time…" He said nothing, only smiled and nodded. They slowly closed their eyes and put their lips together. This time, he didn't resist.

It was magical. Both of them felt like there was nothing else in the world but each other. His arms wrapped around her waist, and hers wrapped around the back of his head, pulling them closer together. They needed oxygen, so they quickly detached, took breaths, and reconnected. This time, she… I'm sorry, but for some reason, a "French" kiss just isn't my thing as far as typing goes, but at least you now know that's what they did. Oh, and Helga was the dominant one.

When they finally pulled apart, their breathing quick and their cheeks flushed, they both (without looking at each other… okay, maybe Helga sneaked a peek) got undressed and changed into their pajamas. After turning out the light and climbing into bed, they both snuggled up and tried to go to sleep.

They key word is "tried". After about ½ an hour, they just gave up. After a few minutes of thinking, Helga got an idea, and a somewhat dark grin appeared on her face. She turned to him and said "I know what we could do…"

I can't really say what happened, or I'd get my $$ kicked off this site so fast it'd make your heads spin. PLEASE DON'T BAN ME FOR THIS! And they both lived happily ever after, finding Arnold's parents alive in San Lorenzo 3 years later. THE END!

Sorry about the rushed ending, but I have limited online time, so I had to finish up quickly. I'm sorry. Please tell me what you think, but don't be too harsh.


End file.
